nt.

"Bring a stone hammer and give it to our guest," he bade his wife. Then
as the rabbit took the hammer he said: "Do not strike too hard."

"Grandfather, I shall be careful," said the rabbit. With a stroke he
struck off a little flake of flint from the bear's body.

"Ni-sko-ke-cha? So big?" he asked.

"Harder, grandson; strike off bigger pieces," said the bear.

The rabbit struck a little harder.

"Ni-sko-ke-cha? So big?" he asked.

The bear grew impatient. "No, no, strike off bigger pieces. I can't be
here all day. Tanka kaksa wo! Break off a big piece."

The rabbit struck again--hard! "Ni-sko-ke-cha?" he cried, as the hammer
fell. But even as he spoke the bear's body broke in two, the flesh part
fell away and only the flint part remained. Like a flash the rabbit
darted out of the hut.

There was a great outcry in the village. Openmouthed, all the bears
gave chase. But as he ran the rabbit cried: "Wa-hin-han-yo (snow, snow)
Ota-po, Ota-po--lots more, lots more," and a great storm of snow swept
down from the sky.

The rabbit, light of foot, bounded over the top of the snow. The bears
sunk in and floundered about helpless. Seeing this, the rabbit turned
back and killed them one by one with his club. That is why we now have
so few bears.

STORY OF THE LOST WIFE

A Dakota girl married a man who promised to treat her kindly, but he did
not keep his word. He was unreasonable, fault-finding, and often beat
her. Frantic with his cruelty, she ran away. The whole village turned
out to search for her, but no trace of the missing wife was to be found.

Meanwhile, the fleeing woman had wandered about all that day and the
next night. The next day she met a man, who asked her who she was.
She did not know it, but he was not really a man, but the chief of the
wolves.

"Come with me," he said, and he led her to a large village. She was
amazed to see here many wolves--gray and black, timber wolves and
coyotes. It seemed as if all the wolves in the world were there.

The wolf chief led the young woman to a great tepee and invited her in.
He asked her what she ate for food.

"Buffalo meat," she answered.

He called two coyotes and bade them bring what the young woman wanted.
They bounded away and soon returned with the shoulder of a fresh-killed
buffalo calf.

"How do you prepare it for eating?" asked the wolf chief.

"By boiling," answered the young woman.

Again he called the two coyotes. Away they